BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Agreement Is Near With the Minors

By MURRAY CHASS, Special to The New York Times

Published: December 3, 1990

ROSEMONT, Ill., Dec. 2—
Major league officials said today they had reached an agreement in principle with the minor leagues on a new player-development agreement. Minor league officials did not characterize their view of the negotiations that strongly, but a spokesman said minor league owners did not have much objection to the latest proposal.

An agreement would end the possibility that the two sides could enter the 1991 season with competing minor league systems.

"We don't know of any issues in dispute," Carl Barger, president of the Pittsburgh Pirates and a member of the major leagues' negotiating committee, told a news briefing at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. "It's a question of going through the procedural hurdles. When lawyers get together, there's always disagreement on language, but we have no substantive disagreement. We have an agreement in principle."

Major league general managers and farm directors were told of the status of the talks before the briefing for reporters and after minor league owners were briefed by their negotiators at their meetings in Los Angeles.

"This side is optimistic," Robert Sparks, director of information for the National Association, governing body of the minor leagues, said by telephone. "The owners generally were positive. There weren't a lot of negative comments from the floor."

Sal Artiaga, the National Association commissioner, was asked if he agreed that an "agreement in principle" had been achieved.

"That's going to be up to our membership," he said by telephone. "I'm hopeful. I'm guardedly optimistic. We have to make sure our people have an opportunity to look at this and assess it. We can't railroad this through."

He said differences remained on language issues in nine areas, adding that the negotiators were discussing them at that very moment. When those matters are resolved, he said, the agreement would be put in writing and given to the league presidents so they could present it to their members. He said he hoped that step could be taken at their final sessions Wednesday.

If the agreement is not ready for formal ratification Wednesday, when the major league owners also meet, Bill Murray, chief negotiator for the majors, said a document would be mailed to all of the owners for ratification. Asking for 'Positive Move'

But, Barger said, "We've asked for some positive move by their membership by the time they finish meeting Wednesday."

Barger referred to the impending agreement as one that "is not a full loaf to either side." Major league negotiators, he said, had been motivated to reach an agreement because of "the recognition that not only were we at the 11th hour but we are at 5 minutes to 12."

The majors, he said, agreed to the minors' proposal on the length of a new agreement -- seven years with the right to reopen it after four years. The majors also assured the minors, which were concerned about the commissioner's authority, that the commissioner would not act arbitrarily in such matters as approval of franchise sales or moves.

The minors have wanted all of their approximately 170 clubs to have player-development contracts with major league clubs. In the agreement that expires Jan. 12, major league clubs needed only to have contracts with 78 teams, or three per club. The majors have agreed to raise that number to 119.

"That'll be tens of millions more than we guarantee now," said Frank Casey, the majors' lawyer in the negotiations. Desire to Cut Costs

The major leagues entered these talks with the intention of reducing the money they give to the minors to subsidize their operations. But Casey said the agreement would cost each major league team a minimum of approximately $50,000 extra per year.

Part of the major leagues' cost would be offset by a new payment from the minor league clubs based on their ticket revenue. The minors would give the majors a minimum of $750,000 in 1991, $1.5 million in 1992, $1.75 million in 1993 and $2 million in 1994.

Initially, the minors had not wanted to begin those payments next year, but Casey said, "We basically got the notion that those numbers are acceptable."

Asked about the majors' failure to lower the subsidy, Barger said, "We did not cost-reduce here, but the agreement will improve our player development program."